While Halo was once one of the most iconic names in gaming, recent releases and controversies surrounding the series have seen it lose its spark. While many are looking forward to Halo: Campaign Evolved, it was the upcoming multiplayer Halo title that many were excited for. It has fueled endless speculation, and fans were hopeful it would improve upon the foundation laid by Halo Infinite. However, according to Rebs Gaming, a well-known Halo insider and content creator, Project Ekur has been canceled and shelved permanently.
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Halo Studios has yet to comment on this new rumor, but with the Microsoft closures and more reported to come, this would not come as a surprise. Microsoft and Xbox have confirmed at 1000s of employees have been let go already and more expected to be fired in the future. We could Halo Studios heavily affected by this depending on the impact of Halo: Campaign Evolved.
Halo’s Project Ekur Reportedly No Longer In Development
In Rebs Gaming’s new video, he reports that Project Ekur, the upcoming Halo multiplayer game, is no longer in development. According to Rebs Gaming, multiple sources are indicating that Halo Studios and Microsoft have shelved the game. Reportedly, Halo Studios was working on the game for much of last year, but developmental shifts saw most of the team move over to work on the upcoming Halo: Campaign Evolved, which is set to release on July 28th.
There have been several other reports surrounding Project Ekur, many of which were unable to be confirmed. Rebs Gaming could not confirm if the decision to cancel Project Ekur was strictly due to the restaffing, but it almost certainly had a major impact if true. He further elaborates that Halo Studios may have had several multiplayer Halo projects in the pipeline and that fans could still expect to see a multiplayer title in the future.
For longtime Halo fans, this may feel familiar. The franchise has experienced numerous development pivots over the years and significant restructuring. After the poor reception to Halo Infinite, the series seemed to be on thin ice. Microsoft’s closure of studios has many worried that legacy developers may see closure, with some speculating even Arkane and Obsidian were on the chopping block.
For now, Halo has taken a huge step back if the reports of Project Ekur’s cancellation are true. The timing feels disappointing, as Halo: Campaign is set to revive the iconic first game, and we are even seeing Gears of War: E-Day bringing back Xbox’s other legendary shooter. As a longtime Halo fan, I hope, with others, that we will see some form of multiplayer game still release, but the future looks bleak at this time.
The gaming industry is in an interesting spot right now, and it doesn’t seem to be leaning in the consumers’ favor. Microsoft is rapidly closing studios, and we are seeing this impact across the board. PlayStation has seemingly made the decision to forego physical discs after the recent announcement of Grand Theft Auto VI shipping as a download code in a physical box. Seeing fan-favorite series being canceled has almost become the norm, just as we see new IPs fail to land on their feet as well.
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